What Does Brendan Dassey's Release Mean For Steven Avery?

Earlier this week, news broke that Brendan Dassey, one of the protagonists from Netflix's true crime documentary series Making A Murderer, would be released from jail in the very near future after a judge ruled that his confession was coerced by police. Now, many are beginning to speculate what that means for the other main character of the series, Steven Avery. Could law enforcers be gearing up to have Avery locked away forever?

Back in 2007, Avery was sentenced to life without parole for the rape and murder of Theresa Halbach. In 2016, Netflix released a highly controversial documentary, which heavily suggested that Avery and Dassey were set up by police and had never actually committed a crime.

A Daily Mail article is now intimating that Dassey's release could spell trouble for Avery. Despite new DNA evidence which could exonerate Avery, some believe that "Wisconsin state prosecutors - led by Attorney General Brad Schimel - will do anything to keep Avery locked up and are armed with tens of millions to fight a 'dirty' legal battle." This is supported by the fact that Avery has a lot to gain in the form of lawsuits if he is found innocent after serving so much jail time.

"'After Brendan's release, Schimel will pull every dirty trick he knows to keep Steven inside so that the corruption involved in framing both of them - that goes right to the top of the Wisconsin justice system - will never be exposed," says prison campaigner Shaun Attwood.

"We're talking tens of millions in taxpayers money prosecuting these guys, it's going to be a dirty battle, that State will fight it tooth and nail. Expect it to take a long time, it could take five years [before Avery is released] ... If the Avery case opens the floodgates, how many more lawsuits could come about from other inmates suing the Wisconsin State for phoney DNA results? It could run into the hundreds of millions," he continued.

Others wonder if the newly released Brendan will turn on Steven now that he is free.

Either way, Avery is currently being represented by Kathleen Zellner, who has a 100% success rate in exonerating criminals. The high-profile Chicago lawyer took on the case shortly after the release of the Netflix documentary.

Will she succeed in thwarting state interests and freeing Avery?

[Photo: Screenshot from Netflix]

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